While reading Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, my students have been completing a WebQuest on Jim Crow laws in order to provide a sense of the historical background of the text. My students have also been blogging about the book and have been completing the WebQuest via the class blog. I have adapted the WebQuest to fit my own needs and proper credit has been given. The link provided takes you to the WebQuest directions on my class blog.
Jim Crow Webquest READALLINSTRUCTIONS BELOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR PROJECT. THIS WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT YOUR GROUP, AND YOU INDIVIDUALLY, WILL BE EXPECTED TO DO. Introduction
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl growing up in rural Alabama in the 1930's. Her father is a lawyer in the town assigned to defend Tom, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Taken for granted in the story is an understanding of Jim Crow Laws and culture. You will now investigate further on these laws and the people who were affected by the laws. You will work in teams of three to explore various websites that will help you gain a better understanding of the Jim Crow Era. Each one of you will take on the role of a historical researcher searching for information on the Jim Crow South. You will examine the birth of legal racial separation, the history of Jim Crow, and actual Jim Crow Laws; you will read the stories of individuals who overcame the odds and resisted Jim Crow Laws, listen to interviews of African-Americans who were directly affected by the restrictions set on them, look at racial turmoil throughout the US in this time period, and examine photographic evidence of the Jim Crow laws and their enforcement. Your mission as historical researchers is to uncover what it was really like to be black during a time of extreme racism and segregation, and to make an emotional connection to the lives of African-Americans. Without this understanding, the book will be much harder to comprehend. The Mission
As historical researchers, you will be required to work as a group to complete this mission before you can begin reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Here is a description of what you and your group must do:· A detailed response to each of the questions asked about a site and posted to the class blog.· Individually write a personal response that reflects your research and your personal response to that research.· In a research conference on the Jim Crow Era, you will share you team’s findings The Process
Before you do anything else, you must choose which role each group member will have:· Navigator: This person will be responsible for navigating the web and making sure all URL's (web site addresses) are correct in the blog entry.· Secretary: This person will be the recorder for the team and is responsible for making sure that the blog entry is completed. This will be the official blog for the group and all group members will get a grade for it. All group members must participate in discussing what goes into the blog. Your research blog will begin once you enter the first site. Make sure that your group keeps a detailed blog, otherwise your mission will not be complete.· Speaker: This person will be the spokesperson for your group during the research conference. The Speaker's performance will count as a grade for the entire group. Make sure all group members help to prepare the presentation the Speaker will deliver.
Be ready to tell me who has what role for each group when I come around and ask.
Step One: Visit the Plessy v Ferguson site to get background on the Supreme Court case that legalized racial separation in the United States. Make sure that in addition to whatever other information you find relevant, you answer the following questions: Who was Plessy? What was his complaint? How did the Supreme Court rule? Was it unanimous? How did that ruling set up the conditions for Jim Crow laws to be enacted and enforced? Discuss these questions as a group and complete the first entry of your group's research blog.
Step Two: Visit The Origin of Jim Crowto get background information on Jim Crow Laws. Create a timeline of events from 1883-1914 listing the major events on this site. Discuss this site together and complete the entry for your group's research blog.
Step Three: Visit Examples of Jim Crow Laws. Here each team member will need to take individual notes. Each team member will choose 3 different laws (each law must come from a different state). How would you react to having to obey that particular law? These will be turned in with your homework. Discuss this site together and complete the entry for your group's research blog.
Step Four: Visit Jim Crow Profiles. There is a list of 20 people and their profiles. Each group will choose one person to research. Before you begin your research, you must get your choice approved by the teacher. Groups will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each group member should take personalized notes on the individual being studied for use in your homework assignment. At minimum you should include the following information in your notes: name, date of birth, place of origin, major cause this person fought for, and major accomplishments. After each team member has completed his/her personal notes, make sure the research log has been completed for this part of the assignment.
Step Five: Visit Jim Crow Narratives. This site has 15 people telling their own stories of living under Jim Crow. Your team will now listen to a recording of one of these interviews. Before you begin your research, you must get your choice approved by the teacher. Groups will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis. After you listen to the interview, you should take a minute or two to record your personal responses to the interview in your own notes; this will be needed for your homework assignment. How did you feel while listening to this person’s story? What effect did hearing the person’s voice have on you? As you listened to the interview, could you hear emotions that are similar to your own? If so, describe what emotions you heard and how you know. Make sure that your group has completed the research blog for this part of the assignment.
Step Six: A number of students wonder why this was so accepted. As a matter of fact, there was a great deal of racial turmoil in this period. Each group needs to pick one of the following incidents to explore further (warning--some of these sites have pictures of violent situations): Atlanta, Georgia East St. Loius, Missouri Elaine, Arkansas Knoxville, Tennessee Omaha, Nebraska Rosewood, Florida Springfield, Illinois Tulsa, Oklahoma Washington, DC Before you begin your research, you must get your choice approved by the teacher. Each group member should take personalized notes on the individual being studied for use in your homework assignment. At minimum you should include the following information in your notes: When did this event occur? What was the incident that started the riot? What happened to those responsible for starting the riot (if anything)? After each team member has completed his/her personal notes, make sure that you have completed the research blog for this part of the assignment.
Step Seven: Visit Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information. Your group must choose one photograph and complete a Visual Literacy Guide (VLG). After your group has completed the VLG, make sure that the research blog for this part of the assignment has been completed. The VLG will be turned in with the research blog.
Step Eight: Before you complete your research, make sure that your entire research blog has been filled in and submitted to the teacher.
Step Nine: If you complete these steps in advance of the other groups, you should explore some other Jim Crow sites that are provided below. Research Conference
As a closing activity for this project your group will share your research findings with the class. You should view this session as a research conference where all the teams have come together to share their findings. In this presentation of your findings, concentrate on the unique research your group did. Each group should be prepared to briefly summarize the following information:· The laws discussed within your groups (pick three--one from each group member?)· The person your group researched· The interview your group listened to· The incident of racial turmoil· The historical importance of the above· Your group's personal reaction to the findings
Remember that although your group's speaker will present your findings, this is a grade for the entire group. You are all expected to help prepare the presentation of the findings. This should be more than one member of the group reading the research to the rest of the class.
Evaluation
A level work
B level work
C level work
D level work
Group Response
All team members contributed and stayed on task. Each student performed his/her assigned role. Students worked together as one complete unit to complete the mission.
All team members contributed and stayed on task. Each student performed his/her assigned role.
Efforts for student collaboration were visible. Each student gave input, but group work did not yet come together as one unit.
Students illustrated little to no group collaboration. Individual effort was unequal and one student took on the majority of the tasks.
Research Log
Each site logged in and all information for that site noted. All questions for each site were answered and at least one example given when needed. When appropriate, personal (and emotional) responses of group members noted and backed up with evidence from the site.
Each site logged in and all information for that site noted. All questions for each site were answered. Group members' personal reactions noted, but not always backed up with evidence from the site.
Most sites logged in and some information for that site noted. Not all questions for each site were answered. Group members' personal reactions not always noted and not always backed up with evidence.
Did not log in many sites visited. Did not answer many of the questions asked. Mainly did not note group members' personal reactions and provided little evidence for what reactions were mentioned.
Research Conference
The Speaker addressed all required elements of the presentation, and included some additional information in a well organized talk. The Speaker included historical importance and emotional effects. The Speaker was easy to hear and understand.
The Speaker addressed the required elements in a well-organized talk. The Speaker discussed the historical importance and emotional effects of the assignment. The Speaker could be heard and understood.
The Speaker addressed some of the required elements, but not all of them. The presentation was organized and coherent. The Speaker needed to speak more loudly and/or more clearly.
The Speaker did not address most of the the required elements of the presentation. The Speaker needed to speak more loudly and more clearly.
Conclusion
After investigation a number of sites related to the Jim Crow Laws, you should have a better understanding of the hardships that African Americans faced in this era. Jim Crow Laws affected all Americans, but African-Americans experienced the brutalities of segregation for many years. If you want to have a full understanding of what is going on in To Kill a Mockingbird, you have got to understand the extent to which Jim Crow laws had become part of the "normal" way Americans treated each other at this time. The goal of this assignment was to help you make an emotional connection to what Tom and other black people experienced, as well as gain historical knowledge of the Jim Crow South. Why Is This Still Important?
The Legacy of Jim Crow lives on to this day. On 28 February, 2007, WRBL in Columbus, GA aired the following report. For Further Research Who Was Jim Crow? What Was Jim Crow? The Plessy v. Ferguson Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States of America Justice Harlan's Dissent to Plessy (excerpt) The History of Jim Crow Remembering Jim Crow
End of Jim Crow Webquest
This webquest was adapted from "Jim Crow South" by Tanya Mijajlovic.
Ms. Rives further adapted this assignment from “Jim Crow Webquest” by Mr. Belliveau
Ms. Rives' Jim Crow WebQuest Adaptation
Jim Crow Webquest
READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BELOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR PROJECT. THIS WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT YOUR GROUP, AND YOU INDIVIDUALLY, WILL BE EXPECTED TO DO.
Introduction
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl growing up in rural Alabama in the 1930's. Her father is a lawyer in the town assigned to defend Tom, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Taken for granted in the story is an understanding of Jim Crow Laws and culture. You will now investigate further on these laws and the people who were affected by the laws. You will work in teams of three to explore various websites that will help you gain a better understanding of the Jim Crow Era. Each one of you will take on the role of a historical researcher searching for information on the Jim Crow South. You will examine the birth of legal racial separation, the history of Jim Crow, and actual Jim Crow Laws; you will read the stories of individuals who overcame the odds and resisted Jim Crow Laws, listen to interviews of African-Americans who were directly affected by the restrictions set on them, look at racial turmoil throughout the US in this time period, and examine photographic evidence of the Jim Crow laws and their enforcement. Your mission as historical researchers is to uncover what it was really like to be black during a time of extreme racism and segregation, and to make an emotional connection to the lives of African-Americans. Without this understanding, the book will be much harder to comprehend.
The Mission
As historical researchers, you will be required to work as a group to complete this mission before you can begin reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Here is a description of what you and your group must do:· A detailed response to each of the questions asked about a site and posted to the class blog.· Individually write a personal response that reflects your research and your personal response to that research.· In a research conference on the Jim Crow Era, you will share you team’s findings
The Process
Before you do anything else, you must choose which role each group member will have:· Navigator: This person will be responsible for navigating the web and making sure all URL's (web site addresses) are correct in the blog entry.· Secretary: This person will be the recorder for the team and is responsible for making sure that the blog entry is completed. This will be the official blog for the group and all group members will get a grade for it. All group members must participate in discussing what goes into the blog. Your research blog will begin once you enter the first site. Make sure that your group keeps a detailed blog, otherwise your mission will not be complete.· Speaker: This person will be the spokesperson for your group during the research conference. The Speaker's performance will count as a grade for the entire group. Make sure all group members help to prepare the presentation the Speaker will deliver.
Be ready to tell me who has what role for each group when I come around and ask.
Step One: Visit the Plessy v Ferguson site to get background on the Supreme Court case that legalized racial separation in the United States. Make sure that in addition to whatever other information you find relevant, you answer the following questions: Who was Plessy? What was his complaint? How did the Supreme Court rule? Was it unanimous? How did that ruling set up the conditions for Jim Crow laws to be enacted and enforced? Discuss these questions as a group and complete the first entry of your group's research blog.
Step Two: Visit The Origin of Jim Crow to get background information on Jim Crow Laws. Create a timeline of events from 1883-1914 listing the major events on this site. Discuss this site together and complete the entry for your group's research blog.
Step Three: Visit Examples of Jim Crow Laws. Here each team member will need to take individual notes. Each team member will choose 3 different laws (each law must come from a different state). How would you react to having to obey that particular law? These will be turned in with your homework. Discuss this site together and complete the entry for your group's research blog.
Step Four: Visit Jim Crow Profiles. There is a list of 20 people and their profiles. Each group will choose one person to research. Before you begin your research, you must get your choice approved by the teacher. Groups will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each group member should take personalized notes on the individual being studied for use in your homework assignment. At minimum you should include the following information in your notes: name, date of birth, place of origin, major cause this person fought for, and major accomplishments. After each team member has completed his/her personal notes, make sure the research log has been completed for this part of the assignment.
Step Five: Visit Jim Crow Narratives. This site has 15 people telling their own stories of living under Jim Crow. Your team will now listen to a recording of one of these interviews. Before you begin your research, you must get your choice approved by the teacher. Groups will be approved on a first-come, first-serve basis. After you listen to the interview, you should take a minute or two to record your personal responses to the interview in your own notes; this will be needed for your homework assignment. How did you feel while listening to this person’s story? What effect did hearing the person’s voice have on you? As you listened to the interview, could you hear emotions that are similar to your own? If so, describe what emotions you heard and how you know. Make sure that your group has completed the research blog for this part of the assignment.
Step Six: A number of students wonder why this was so accepted. As a matter of fact, there was a great deal of racial turmoil in this period. Each group needs to pick one of the following incidents to explore further (warning--some of these sites have pictures of violent situations):
Atlanta, Georgia
East St. Loius, Missouri
Elaine, Arkansas
Knoxville, Tennessee
Omaha, Nebraska
Rosewood, Florida
Springfield, Illinois
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Washington, DC
Before you begin your research, you must get your choice approved by the teacher. Each group member should take personalized notes on the individual being studied for use in your homework assignment. At minimum you should include the following information in your notes: When did this event occur? What was the incident that started the riot? What happened to those responsible for starting the riot (if anything)? After each team member has completed his/her personal notes, make sure that you have completed the research blog for this part of the assignment.
Step Seven: Visit Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information. Your group must choose one photograph and complete a Visual Literacy Guide (VLG). After your group has completed the VLG, make sure that the research blog for this part of the assignment has been completed. The VLG will be turned in with the research blog.
Step Eight: Before you complete your research, make sure that your entire research blog has been filled in and submitted to the teacher.
Step Nine: If you complete these steps in advance of the other groups, you should explore some other Jim Crow sites that are provided below.
Research Conference
As a closing activity for this project your group will share your research findings with the class. You should view this session as a research conference where all the teams have come together to share their findings. In this presentation of your findings, concentrate on the unique research your group did. Each group should be prepared to briefly summarize the following information:· The laws discussed within your groups (pick three--one from each group member?)· The person your group researched· The interview your group listened to· The incident of racial turmoil· The historical importance of the above· Your group's personal reaction to the findings
Remember that although your group's speaker will present your findings, this is a grade for the entire group. You are all expected to help prepare the presentation of the findings. This should be more than one member of the group reading the research to the rest of the class.
Evaluation
Conclusion
After investigation a number of sites related to the Jim Crow Laws, you should have a better understanding of the hardships that African Americans faced in this era. Jim Crow Laws affected all Americans, but African-Americans experienced the brutalities of segregation for many years. If you want to have a full understanding of what is going on in To Kill a Mockingbird, you have got to understand the extent to which Jim Crow laws had become part of the "normal" way Americans treated each other at this time. The goal of this assignment was to help you make an emotional connection to what Tom and other black people experienced, as well as gain historical knowledge of the Jim Crow South.
Why Is This Still Important?
The Legacy of Jim Crow lives on to this day. On 28 February, 2007, WRBL in Columbus, GA aired the following report.
For Further Research
Who Was Jim Crow?
What Was Jim Crow?
The Plessy v. Ferguson Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States of America
Justice Harlan's Dissent to Plessy (excerpt)
The History of Jim Crow
Remembering Jim Crow
End of Jim Crow Webquest
This webquest was adapted from "Jim Crow South" by Tanya Mijajlovic.
Ms. Rives further adapted this assignment from “Jim Crow Webquest” by Mr. Belliveau